[3] TiME is a relatively low-cost, outer-planet mission designed to measure the organic constituents on Titan and would have performed the first nautical exploration of an extraterrestrial sea, analyze its nature and, possibly, observe its shoreline.

[8][9] TiME was one of three Discovery Mission finalists that received US$3 million in May 2011 to develop a detailed concept study.

Additionally, the flagship Titan Saturn System Mission, which was proposed in 2009 for launch in the 2020s, included a short-lived battery-powered lake lander.

[13] The discovery on July 22, 2006, of lakes and seas in Titan's northern hemisphere confirmed the hypothesis that liquid hydrocarbons exist on it.

[19][20] Had it been selected by NASA, the TiME lander would have been the test flight of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG),[6] which is a prototype meant to provide availability of long-lived power supplies for landed networks and other planetary missions.

[22][23] The capsule would not need propulsion: the wind and possible tidal currents are expected to push this buoyant craft around the sea for months.

[27] The capsule is expected to drift on the surface of the sea at 0.1 m/s, pushed by currents and wind with typical speeds of 0.5 m/s, and not exceeding 1.3 m/s (4.2 feet/second).

[24] The probe would not be equipped with propulsion, and while its motion cannot be controlled, knowledge of its successive locations could be used to optimize scientific return, such as lake depth, temperature variations and shore imaging.

[28] A few scientists hypothesize that if the hydrocarbon chemistry on Titan crossed the threshold from inanimate matter to some form of life, it would be difficult to detect.

[28] Moreover, because Titan is so cold, the amount of energy available for building complex biochemical structures is limited, and any water-based life would freeze without a heat source.